Introduction

I love grilled or fried halloumi, that squeaky, salty, polystyrene-textured cheese. Not a very seductive way of describing it maybe, but that, indeed, is what it’s like. You should have no difficulty finding it in the supermarket, and this is a doddle to make. You don’t need to do it at the very last minute, but don’t fry the halloumi so far in advance that it’s totally cooled by the time it comes to the table. And if you prefer, by all means grill it. And again, this is the sort of food that you can sit on the table for people idly to eat as they stand around, drink in hand. It looks beautiful, too, which is always an aid to proceedings.

Makes about 30

Easy

Ingredients

2 tbsp

chopped, de-seeded fresh red chilli (about 2 medium chillies)

60ml (4 tbsp)

extra-virgin olive oil

2 x 250g

packets of halloumi, sliced medium-thin (i.e., just under half a centimetre)

juice of 1/4 lemon

Instructions

Mix the chopped chilli and olive oil in a small bowl or cup and leave the flavours to deepen while you cook the cheese. I use a non-stick frying pan for this, without any oil, and just give the cheese slices about 2 minutes a side until they’re golden-brown in parts. When all the slices of halloumi are cooked, transfer them to a couple of small plates. Give the chilli oil a stir, spoon it over the cheese, then give a spritz of lemon. That’s all there is to it.